Official Luthiers Forum!

I am a leftie (and a total novice guitar builder), and my Stewmac Dreadnought kit I am currently building has had plenty of modifications already...being a bit of a bracing purist, I switched the bracing plans to suit a leftie player, because of the strength needed on the treble end, and to avoid possible tone discrepancies (this is debatable of course) Here is the poor victim in question...



Now I could buy a leftie bridge with saddle routed, but I have two ebony bridges at home plus a righty guitar that has a Saddleboy conversion (a device to switch saddle without using the dreaded router). I hope that one day I can permanently convert the rightie (it already has a lefty nut)

It seems common sense to "have a go" and try and re-rout the saddle myself. I have the spare materials to plug the existing saddle, but need to ask questions about the actual dimensions of where the saddle should go.

I have been told it is easy enough to take the existing dimensions and simply switch them (ie. the slant) I , however don't think it can be that simple, can it?

Sorry to be asking a stupid question, but it seems in Luthiery, one is always thinking waayy ahead...

Sam Price38892.2588888889

Sam

I am a Lefty too, all you need to do is fill the slot with a piece of ebony, if you build the little jig shown in the campiano book you have there, but reverse it, you will have the correct saddle angle, it is as simple as just reversing the slot.

Sam, what Russell said, i see that you have your bible close at hand too, good thing! Nice instrument BTW!

You can also check out John How's jig for this application in the JIGS TOOLS and techniques up above, if you use a router table, it's a really cool jig that i'll be building soon! Serge Poirier38892.5224305556

It looks preety good and you got the right book on how to do it! Just do what Russel suggested and reverse it.

BTW....Sam, did you glue on the top first but have not inlaid the rosette yet? Looks that way from the pics.

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

/\ 'Fraid so...I disliked the herringbone intensely, and and in the process of securing something else. I need to get the body construced before I go away on holiday, as I have been strictly controlling humidity, and need the tonewoods to be relatively stablised.

Yes, I know not to lean on the soundboard!! I'll probably stuff some firm cardboard tubing into the soundhole to support the upper body whilst inlaying...

(I don't mind you telling me I have done the wrong thing, after all, I have never built a guitar before!!)

Sam, you came to the right place.....!

Don't worry about the rosette inlay, you don't have to apply that much pressure to inlay it anyway! Its just easier to do it when its laying flat on the bench and easier to level sand too. Try to find some inlay of the same diameter as the channel (or you can do that by adding some purfling to the shell width to match its diameter)and you'll be fine. Seal the top with a sealer ( to prevent the CA from running through the fibers on the top and staining it) and the apply a thin CA to the inlayed rossette. Let it dry and sand flush....pretty easy if you take your time.

Good luck!

Oh, and keep asking questions!!peterm38892.7825

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Ahh, be still my beating heart, I thought I had made a real boo-boo then!!!

Thanks VERY much for the information and encouragement..Once the body has been constructed, I can relax and take my time with the binding, purfling, and rosette stuff...